Wednesday, 27 July 2011

No, I will never again complain about too much rain, after all the years of drought we've had.

But...

it sure has rained a lot recently. It's got to the stage where it's hard for a somewhat older dog walker to keep her footing. Most of the best places around here are along the Yarra River, or along local creeks, because that's where the public open land is, and they are swampy and muddy places.

Of course, having wandered through every puddle as I minced around the edges, Penny had a delightful layer of mud up to her belly.( I thought it would involve a third dunk in the bath for her - two recently - but luckily it brushed out easily later at home.)

It rained most of the time we were out, and the clouds threatened even heavier rain.

So, of course, we and one other lone woman with dog were the only silly billies tramping through the slush. But wait! As we walked along the edge of the golf course, what did we see? The other type of all-weather people - golfers.

We headed back to the car past the tennis courts, and took note of the sign on the gate that should stop any complacency about the current rain. After so long without rain it will take more than one wet season to restore nature's balance.

Sunday, 24 July 2011

According to Professor Mark Bekoff, formerly of the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Colorado in Boulder, most people agree that dogs experience emotion. He says:

I often begin my lectures with the question: “Is there anyone in this audience who thinks that dogs don’t have feelings—that they don’t experience joy and sadness?” I’ve never had an enthusiastic response to this question, even in scientific gatherings, although on occasion a hand or two goes up slowly, usually halfway, as the person glances around to see if anyone is watching. But if I ask, “How many of you believe that dogs have feelings?” then almost every hand waves wildly and people smile and nod in vigorous agreement.

Here are a few pictures of times when I felt sure I knew what Penny was feeling:

FEELING SICK AND UNHAPPY

ANNOYED THAT A STRANGE DOG WAS IN OUR HOUSE. (SHE HAD MOVED INTO THE BOX I'D PREPARED FOR HIM AND WASN'T BUDGING)

In scientific research there are always surprises. Just when we think we’ve seen it all, new scientific data appear that force us to rethink what we know and to revise our stereotypes. For example, spindle cells, which were long thought to exist only in humans and other great apes, have recently been discovered in humpback whales, fin whales, killer whales and sperm whales in the same area of their brains as spindle cells in human brains. This brain region is linked with social organization, empathy and intuition about the feelings of others, as well as rapid gut reactions. Spindle cells are important in processing emotions. It’s likely that if we seek the presence of spindle cells in other animals we will find them.

When I first began my studies centering on the question, “What does it feel like to be a dog or a wolf?” researchers were almost all skeptics who spent their time wondering if dogs, cats, chimpanzees and other animals felt anything. Since feelings don’t fit under a microscope, these scientists usually didn’t find any—and as I like to say, I’m glad I wasn’t their dog! ...

Part of the challenge in understanding the behavior of a species is that they look like us for a reason. That’s not projecting human values. That’s primatizing the generalities that we share with them.” [Quote from Professor Robert Sapolsky, a world-renowned ethologist and neuroscientist and author of A Primate’s Memoir] No matter what we call it, researchers agree that animals and humans share many traits, including emotions. Thus, we’re not inserting something human into animals, but we’re identifying commonalities and then using human language to communicate what we observe. Being anthropomorphic is doing what’s natural and necessary to understand animal emotions...

What we have since learned about animal emotions and empathy fits in well with what we know about the lifestyle of different species—how complex their social interactions and social networks are. Emotions, empathy, and knowing right from wrong are keys to survival, without which animals—both human and nonhuman—would perish. That’s how important they are. The borders between “them” (animals) and “us” are murky and permeable.

Professor Bekoff was speaking in relation to the use of animals in science, but I think his words have an important truth for us as dog owners. I'll finish with one last quote:

Our relationship with other animals is a complex, ambiguous, challenging and frustrating affair, and we must continually reassess how we should interact with our nonhuman kin.

Saturday, 23 July 2011

When Penny was eating a commercial dry food as part of a hypo-allergenic diet to deal with skin issues, I was unhappy, because I prefer not to feed her that kind of food. I can't see that a monotonous diet of one product could possible be healthy. I was relieved when we went to a skin specialist who told us to discontinue the diet.

Recently there has been a report in a newspaper in Queensland, raising serious doubts about the levels of sulphur dioxide in some commercial pet meat products. I sometimes buy these sorts of products, but avoid the ones where there is an extremely long use-by date, because I'm wary of the effects of preservatives on Penny's health.

We do buy 4Legs products, because they say they don't use any preservatives. It was a 4Legs email that sent me the link to the newspaper article, so I guess they are wanting to reassure pet owners that their product is not involved in this problem. On their site they have this to say about pets fed exclusively on pet mince, pet meat or food rolls.

The Australian Veterinary Association (AVA) has warned that pets fed exclusively with pet mince, pet meat or food rolls that are high in preservatives may suffer fatal health problems. This is because these products often contain high levels of sulphur dioxide. Known as Preservative 220 – 228, sulphur can inactivate the vitamin thiamine (Vitamin B1), which is vital for brain development. Degeneration of brain function can quickly lead to paralysis, seizures and death.

In one way this is scary stuff, but on the other hand I don't think anyone would feed their dog exclusively on these products. I think it's more likely that an owner might choose one dry food product - which I think is equally questionable, as I said at the start of this post.

She relates some stories about a mother dog deliberately teaching her pups to play with certain toys and sticks. I found it interesting, given that Professor Bradshaw says we need to look at how dogs behave in packs and stop thinking they behave as wolves do. The pups in Sue's story are four years old and still living with their mother, so I think it's a most interesting blog.

For instance, I have observed that Penny:will sometimes sniff other dogs but doesn't like being sniffed;likes humans more than she likes dogs;is concerned that the 'pack' stay together on a walk;is relaxed about her humans leaving the house because she trusts, from experience, that they will return;Is not concerned about dominance;loves to win a tug of war game but does not change her behavior because she has won.

Some aspects of the short article were new to me:

He says:

"People have been studying American timber wolves because the European wolf is virtually extinct. And the American timber wolf is not related at all closely to the ancestry of the domestic dog."

Bradshaw's hypothesis is that domestic dogs were descended from more sociable wolves but that "whatever the ancestor of the dog was like, we don't have it today". The wolves alive now are unreliable specimens, necessarily rough diamonds, who have been able to "survive the onslaught we have given them". And here is the rub: new research – including work with Indian village dogs – shows that dogs "do not set up wolf-type packs. They don't organise themselves in the way wolves do"

And:

He writes about love (science plays safe and calls it "attachment") but in answer to the question: does your dog love you? replies: 'Of course!" The positive hormone, oxytocin, is triggered by love: "Dogs experience a surge of oxytocin during friendly interactions with people."

Saturday, 16 July 2011

When I was in Lorne recently, I went for a walk along the street that parallels the main beach street, and I was concerned to see an off-lead dog wandering across the road in front of me. In a strange town you're never sure whether to try to catch a loose dog, because it might be the local custom to let dogs roam more freely than they do in the big cities. However, I bent down to see if it had a collar, and did a double take...

Frantically I tried to unzip the pocket of my raincoat - yes, it was raining - to reach for my camera. And this is what I managed to get, as the 'dog' scurried away from me:

Overseas readers might think it's an everyday occurrence to see a koala in Australia, but let me assure you, it is not! Not for city dwellers like me, anyway. And most of us live in cities. Here's a quote from Encyclopedia of the Nations:

Australia's population is mostly urbanized, with about 88 percent of its people living in an urban area. Sydney alone has over 20 percent of the country's people.

Once the koala was in the tree it relaxed and I had all the time in the world to photograph it.

It eventually got a bit tired of me staring and staring at it, and turned its head away.

I wonder how well dogs and koalas co-exist in Lorne? I did notice the house beside the tree had a notice saying 'beware of the dog'. I suppose it might be like our own garden, where Penny goes out each evening to see if she can find any ring-tailed possums on the ground. They're always high in the tree, to her great frustration and my great relief.

The rocky part of the shore made me think of the sad poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson that a long-ago teacher made me memorise. (I'm glad to have had such a tough-loving teacher!) It's called Break, Break, Break.

I've been to Lorne for a few days, leaving Penny at home with her other humans. I had a great time there, and saw lots of dogs enjoying this magnificent beach, which is located along The Great Ocean Road.

There were signs at each town saying dogs had to be on lead within the township, but I saw many dogs romping on the beaches along the coast, so I think it must be okay to play on the beach in winter. I had a look at the Cheeky Dog site, and it certainly suggests that this area is a great place to take dogs, so perhaps Penny will come with me on my next visit.

Most of the dogs I saw were racing around on the sand, and a few were in the water, near the edge, but there were signs around that even the clumps of seaweed had interested at least one canine.

I'm fairly certain dogs wouldn't be allowed on the beach in the middle of the day in summer, when there would be more people around than in this photo.

But on the other hand I wouldn't want to be walking with Penny in the heat of a summer's day anyway!

We met a couple of people with a most gorgeous blue staffy, and they said they were staying at Separation Creek, in dog-friendly accommodation called Surf Shack. From the look of the website, it seems lovely indeed.

I've learned in the past that if I get stressed about what I want Penny to learn, it goes badly. My reason for trick training with Penny is to give her a chance to use her intelligence and to have fun, so I agree with what Jaana has said.

Friday, 1 July 2011

Today in The Age newspaper I read that animals here in Victorian pounds or shelters do not have to be killed if they are still in the institution after 28 days. Thank goodness! The article says they will have as much time as necessary to find homes.

The Victorian government, after consultation with major stakeholders and with the public, has ruled not only to remove the 28-day limit, but also that:

Animals can be fostered for a variety of reasons, such as for veterinary or behavioural rehabilitation, if they are juveniles, or if they require short term care to provide respite from the pound or shelter environment. Animals can be fostered for any time period, as long as it is done in accordance with the written foster care agreement.

Severely injured or unweaned animals will no longer be automatically killed on admission. (I didn't know about that rule!)

Puppies and kittens must be inspected more frequently than older animals.

And:

A new enrichment, exercise and socialisation section offers guidance on improving the environment and welfare of shelter animals, particularly those housed in the long term. This includes the ability, under certain circumstances, to exercise dogs off premises, or to be socialised in groups.